Prelim Results!!! (Predictions later tonight)

4x8 Prelim Results:

State College won their heat as expected with a solid time of 7:52 and they were followed with in a second by Henderson, Pennsbury, and Penncrest. Cedar Crest also stepped up big time running 7:54.79. I’m genuinely surprised by how well Penncrest is doing, but there time is reasonably when I really study their team. I doubted them at the district meet, but the keep dropping time.  Cedar Crest didn’t have a good district meet, but wow they really stepped it up. Central Dauphin snuck in with an 8:00.12, which really disappoints me. Not the team, but the time. PA’s got so many squads that can go sub 8 and they didn’t make it in, yet an 8 flat squad makes finals. Altoona Area ran 8:21 and I have no idea what happened, but after a 7:54 effort they shouldn’t be running that slow. Same with Bensalem who hit 8:18, but I doubt Francis ran or they shut him down.

Out of heat 2 Pennridge, CB East, North Penn, Boyertown, and Seneca Valley all ran 7:53 to advance to the finals and just behind them was Saint Joseph’s Prep who had a huge race! I totally forgot about this squad and how they stepped it up indoors, and that was a mistake. They flew under the radar the past month after a great start to their season and they’re running quite well, but will it be enough for a state medal? I’m also shocked about Boyertown. They were solid at districts, but I didn’t see a 7:53 coming out of them, but with a few 2 flat legs, a 1:58 guy, and Mercado anchoring like an animal in 1:54. They’ve got a great chance at medal. Indiana Area ran 8:04 after running 7:55 in a torrential downpour and Carlisle either didn’t run Brehm or something went terribly wrong.

1600 Prelim Results:

The 1600m prelims played out very similar to how I predicted (11/12). Brehm, Van Kooten, Caldwell, and Barchet get the auto-Q’s. They dominated the heat and all cruised in with 4:18’s. Holm proved himself once again and came in with a 4:20.06, just behind the top group. Then my big sleeper pick, Matt Brown, came up big with a 4:21.73 to grab the last q spot. He beat out Hopkins by a few tens which is a shame. Hopkins has had a great senior year.

Russell, Belfatto, Albert and Sloan dominated their heat all running within .5 seconds of each other in the 4:16/4:17 range. Running 4:16 is a bit faster than I thought Russell would have to run, but he’s a 4:08 guy, so I’m not worried about him coming back tomorrow morning in the 3200. Behind him Ryan Grace and Cole Nissley looked strong in just under 4:20. Nissley had a big race and he clearly picked the right distance. I saw him as a longer distance guy, but this is a big PR for him and I think he’ll be fairly successful in the finals. The man just out of the finals, by .01 was Gunnar Sjoreen, which is a rough way to end a senior season, but he broke out big time and was really fantastic for ‘Stoga.

800m Prelims Results:

In the first heat Smart led the charge in 1:54.58 with Logue and Wilhoite and Francis following suit for the Q’s in the heat. All 4 guys were expected to make it in, but Wilhoite’s 3^rd place is pretty impressive, but like I said a few posts ago, those Penn Hills boys come up big at the state meet, so look out for him. Marcus Smail was great last year at the state meet, but he didn’t do well at districts and I counted him out, but he ran a season beast in 1:55.89 to grab a q. Behind him the District One boys Austin Cooper and Dave Garton battled it out and tied with Garton getting in on the lean! Last year Jeff Wiseman was a top medal contender who didn’t make finals, and sadly this year Cooper falls into that role. Cooper has been an animal all season and his 1:53 last week was incredible. I hope we see him race one more time at Henderson. My man Jarrod Cruise had a huge split for Cedar Crest, which got them into the 4x8 finals, but it cost him in the open as he came back in 2:02, but it’s all about the time, so I’m glad he’ll be running in one final event at the state meet. 

The second heat was led by Wiseman and he had the best qualifying time of 1:54.21. Following him for the Q’s were Cather, Brehm, and Foster. The top 3 were surely expected with their strong performances all season and Wiseman will look to go tape to tape tomorrow. Cather didn’t have the 4x8 prelims, which helped him make it in Brehm had a nice double today and should be strong tomorrow. Foster gets a PR of 1:54.69 as he outleaned Alek Sauer who got into the finals with the same time. It’s amazing that two heats in a row had guys tie on time! Sauer had a great race and I did not see that coming at all. Grabbing the last spot was Eli Mercado who had a big split earlier in the day for Boyertown and he came back with a 1:55.40 in the open 800. He has blossomed so well this outdoor season and he just keeps improving so much every weekend and he doubles fantastically well. I can’t believe I doubted him. Missing out from this heat is the newly PR’d 1:53 man Elias Graca in his first major state meet race, which can always be rough for a junior with such new found talent. I think the experience will be good for him and he’ll be hungry next year, similar to how Wiseman came in this season. 

Predictions will be up later tonight!!!

--ForrestCRN